The nominative is used for the subject of the sentence. The subject is the person or thing doing the action of the verb. To find the subject ask yourself, "Who/What is (insert verb)?" Check out these sentences:
Ich gehe oft ins Kino. (Who is going to the movies?)
Heute haben wir eine Probe. (Who has a rehearsal today?)
Der Stuhl ist bequem. (What is comfortable?)
Der Akkusativ
The accusative is used for the direct object of the sentence. The direct object is the person or thing which receives the action of the verb. To find the direct object ask yourself the question, "Who or what is being (insert the verb)?" Check out these sentences:
Der Mann kauft eine Zeitung. (What is being bought?)
Ich brauche einen Bleistift. (What is needed?)
Der Schüler fragt den Lehrer. (Who is being asked?)
There is also a group of prepositions which use the accusative. That means that the word directly after the preposition is in the accusative case. No other part of the sentence is affected.
durch (through) Der Zug fährt durch den Tunnel.
für (for) Er kauft das Buch für seine Mutter.
gegen (against) Der Schrank steht gegen die Wand.
ohne (without) Ohne seinen Hut geht er nie spazieren.
um (around) Die Kirche liegt gleich um die Ecke.
N-nouns
Some masculine nouns take -(e)n in all cases except for the Nominative. Six of these words have been introduced so far, although there are more of them. Those words are:
der Herr / den Herrn / dem Herrn
der Junge / den Jungen / dem Jungen
der Franzose / den Franzosen / dem Franzosen
der Nachbar / den Nachbarn / dem Nachbarn
der Mensch / den Menschen / dem Menschen
der Studetn / den Studenten / dem Studenten
Der Dativ
The dative is used for the indirect object of the sentence. The indirect object (usually a person) receives the direct object. To find the indirect object, ask yourself, "Who is (insert the direct object) for?" Check out these sentences:
Ich gebe dem Mann Geld. (Who is the money for?)
Der Nachbar verkauft mir sein Auto. (Who is the car for?)
Der Ober bringt den Eltern das Essen. (Who is the meal for?)
There is also a group of prepositions which use the dative case. Just like the accusative prepositions, the word directly after the preposition is in the dative case. That's the only part of the sentence affected. To remember these prepositions, you can sing them (aus - außer - bei - mit - nach - seit - von - zu) to the tune of "The Blue Danube".
aus (out of / from) Mein Onkel kommt aus der Schweiz.
außer (except for) Außer mir spricht niemand in meiner Familie Deutsch.
bei (by / with (wohnen) / at) Der Student wohnt bei einer Familie in Wien.
mit (with) Ich gehe mit einem Freund ins Kino.
nach (to (a city or a counrty) / after) Nach der Schule gehen wir einkaufen.
seit (since) Seit einem Jahr wohne ich in Interlochen.
von (from) Das ist ein Geschenk von meinem Vater.
zu (to) Die Kinder gehen zur Schule. (zur = zu der / zum = zu dem)
Note: The idiomatic expressions nach Hause (Ich gehe nach Hause.) and zu Hause (Wir bleiben zu Hause.) do not follow the general rules above. Nach Hause means you are going in the direction of home and zu Hause means "at home".
Finally, there is a group of verbs that use the dative case. Because of these verbs, the direct object is surprisingly in dative rather than the expected accusative case.
antworten (to answer) Der Lehrer antwortet dem Schüler.
danken (to thank) Ich danke dem Mann für das Geschenk.
gefallen (to please) Das Theaterstück gefällt der Frau nicht. (Note: gefallen / er gefällt)
gehören (to belong to) Das Auto gehört mir.
glauben (to believe) Wir glauben dem Mann nicht.
helfen (to help) Das Mädchen hilft ihrem Bruder. (Note: helfen / er hilft)
schmecken (to taste) Das Schnitzel schmeckt mir gut.
Der Nominativ:
The nominative is used for the subject of the sentence. The subject is the person or thing doing the action of the verb. To find the subject ask yourself, "Who/What is (insert verb)?" Check out these sentences:
Der Akkusativ
The accusative is used for the direct object of the sentence. The direct object is the person or thing which receives the action of the verb. To find the direct object ask yourself the question, "Who or what is being (insert the verb)?" Check out these sentences:
There is also a group of prepositions which use the accusative. That means that the word directly after the preposition is in the accusative case. No other part of the sentence is affected.
N-nouns
Some masculine nouns take -(e)n in all cases except for the Nominative. Six of these words have been introduced so far, although there are more of them. Those words are:Der Dativ
The dative is used for the indirect object of the sentence. The indirect object (usually a person) receives the direct object. To find the indirect object, ask yourself, "Who is (insert the direct object) for?" Check out these sentences:
There is also a group of prepositions which use the dative case. Just like the accusative prepositions, the word directly after the preposition is in the dative case. That's the only part of the sentence affected. To remember these prepositions, you can sing them (aus - außer - bei - mit - nach - seit - von - zu) to the tune of "The Blue Danube".
Note: The idiomatic expressions nach Hause (Ich gehe nach Hause.) and zu Hause (Wir bleiben zu Hause.) do not follow the general rules above. Nach Hause means you are going in the direction of home and zu Hause means "at home".
Link to the Chart of Prepositions
Finally, there is a group of verbs that use the dative case. Because of these verbs, the direct object is surprisingly in dative rather than the expected accusative case.
Aktivitäten zu dem Dativ:
Answers to the Worksheet
Dative
Präpositionen